From my many conversations with small business owners, I’ve realized that many fear the sheer thought of tackling the accounting part of our business. This is especially true for creatives who would rather devote their time to creating content than digging into the specifics of expense and revenue tracking.
However, the common misconception is that accounting is reserved for a select few, and the rest of the mere mortals are left powerless in its wake. As a result, many of us omit one of the most important parts of our businesses, that is the financial and accounting side. As a CPA and consultant, it’s a fear I hear and see in many of my clients.
With the advent of side hustles and solopreneurs, especially among working women, it’s becoming increasingly important to have a handle on our own accounting. Most small businesses are now being started by women, especially women of color, which reinforces the need to tackle our own financial needs. Even if you hire a professional, you still need to know what is being done in your business.
If you’re a small business owner, or thinking of becoming one, here are 10 accounting basics to keep in mind:
Develop a business plan
One of the most overlooked parts of starting a business is developing a business plan. This is where you express your business strategy through a detailed plan that will inform your activities and general growth. A good place to get start is: www.sba.gov.
Decide on your business structure
Whether you decide to run your business as a sole proprietorship, establish a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), or a partnership, among other business structures, this will impact your tax status, as well as the way you conduct business.
Open a bank account for your business
Distinguishing and separating your funds with that of the business is paramount. It helps you track the expenses and revenues of the business better, while also protecting your assets in the meantime.
List your creditors
Taking care of the debts of your business is paramount as this will help you secure loans and show how solvable it is. Make sure to list all your creditors and keep track of your debts owed and the payments you’re making towards these.
List your business assets
As a small business owner, knowing what you own in terms of assets is crucial. Not only can this help you value your business better in financial terms, but it will also allow you to keep track of the growth, or lack thereof, of your entity.
Determine your discounts
How will your structure any discounts you give to customers? Considering how these discounts can impact your bottom line, you may want to decide earlier on on their structure and frequency.
Choose your accounting method of choice
Will you be using the cash method of accounting, whereby you will recognize your revenues and expenses based on cash exchanged? Or will you accrue your expenses and revenues instead? Deciding on your method of accounting will allow you to manage your books better, and be more aware of the profits of your business.
Decide if you’ll use an accounting software
Will you be using an accounting software or manually record your transactions? This decision will impact your entire accounting system, so you may want to spend some time reviewing the different options you may have. Accounting software like Quickbooks or Freshbooks are great ways to get started.
Determine how you will enter your bills and revenues
Will you hire someone to record your bills and revenues? Will you do it yourself? How frequently will you do it? Will you be using an app to scan your receipts? These may sound like small business decisions, however they will greatly impact the accuracy and timeliness of your records, which in turn will affect your taxes and general growth.
Picking the right accountant for you
Last but not least, picking the right accountant for you is a process to tackle carefully. Not everyone can serve as your business accountant, even if they have all the right degrees and credentials. Some questions to ask yourself when picking your business accountant include:
Does this person understand my business?
Does he/she get the strategy of my business?
Is he/she qualified enough?
Is he/she available to work on my business in a way that will serve me well?
As a small business owner, you want to make sure that you have an input into your finances and accounting. After all, it’s your business, and it’s up to you to steer it in the right direction. Even as you may seek help and hire accounting personnel, remember that your business is yours, and others are here to help you execute your vision.
Whether you’re just starting out in your career, or you already have significant experience, you probably are periodically thinking about what it would take for you to upgrade your career. It may be getting a promotion, transitioning to a different department or team, or even switching careers. In most extreme cases, it may even be about taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
The point is, even if you’re comfortable coasting through the ups and downs of your career or business, you may also want to take your career to the next level. However, you may think, like I did, that it would take something drastic to do so. What I have found out through mine and many other working women’s experience, is that upgrading your career is not as complex or lengthy of a process as we may think. As a matter of fact, you have much more power and ability to steer your work towards what you truly desire as you accomplish your purpose than you think.
Here are 4 simple ways you can get started with today to upgrade your career:
Start with mindset
A large, if not the largest part of improving your career for the better, lies with our minds. In most cases, it’s primarily about the story we tell ourselves about ourselves and the work we do. It may be the result of deeply ingrained conceptions from childhood about our abilities or personality; or the outcome of failed experiences in the workplace.
The point is, even if you’re comfortable coasting through the ups and downs of your career or business, you may also want to take your career to the next level. However, you may think, like I did, that it would take something drastic to do so. What I have found out through mine and many other working women’s experience, is that upgrading your career is not as complex or lengthy of a process as we may think. As a matter of fact, you have much more power and ability to steer your work towards what you truly desire as you accomplish your purpose than you think.
Here are 4 simple ways you can get started with today to upgrade your career:
Start with mindset
A large, if not the largest part of improving your career for the better, lies with our minds. In most cases, it’s primarily about the story we tell ourselves about ourselves and the work we do. It may be the result of deeply ingrained conceptions from childhood about our abilities or personality; or the outcome of failed experiences in the workplace.
I was always told as a child that I was shy and could not express myself in public. Over the years, I became convinced that I would never be able to speak publicly. This greatly impacted my success at work initially, as I would be insecure expressing my thoughts, opinions, or even standing up for myself in the workplace. Today, I teach and speak to audiences all over and am no longer afraid of telling my story. This could not have happened had I not been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do some much-needed mindset work.
What is your current mindset about your career? Do you tell yourself a positive, uplifting message about your career that allows you to thrive? Or do you get bogged down by limitations that tank your performance?
Invest in learning
Learning is the one single most important skill that will keep you successful and fulfilled throughout your career. Remember that your career is a living, breathing thing that changes not just with organizations and industries you’re part of. It also evolves with you and the rest of society. Constantly learning and educating yourself not only keeps you current and competent; but it also enriches you in general.
There are many ways to invest in learning, and these aren’t just limited to taking courses or going back to school. You can also learn from your environment, develop skills that you may be lacking, such as public speaking for instance. You may also learn through mentors, peers, allies and those around you.
What is it that you could invest in learning about to upgrade your career? Are there skills that could take your work to the next level that you could acquire?
Be more authentic
We don’t often talk about authenticity when it comes to taking your career to the next level. However, it’s a critical component of your success at work. You don’t just bring your credentials, degrees and other qualifications to the table of your career. You also bring in the sum of your life experiences, your personality, your mindset, and general outlook on life and work. These play an integral part in your career development.
While we all tend to keep our “professional masks” on, there are also ways in which we can manage to be more authentic. Sharing a part of who we are, showing up as our authentic selves, daring to tell the truth of your convictions, are steps in the right direction. For me, it was daring to disagree, walking away from toxic work situations, and yes, even wearing my hair natural.
Which areas of your work and life do you need to be more authentic in? What can you do today to show up as you are at work?
Make peace with failure
A great career is also one that includes failures. Not everything you will do or try will work. As a matter of fact, much of your work may end up in failures. Yet, there is so much power in learning from our mistakes, finding better ways to address our shortcomings and improving processes and systems in general.
Failure is a powerful tool. When used correctly, not to increase fear and intimidation, but instead to foster growth and innovation, it can radically change the narrative of our careers.
Have you been resisting failure? What have you kept yourself from trying out of fear of failing? What failures have you buried down deep and not addressed so you could learn and improve from them?
As I’m drafting this email, I’m reeling from the last Women of Color in the Academy Conference I attended last week. The theme of this year’s Women of Color in the Academy conference in Boston, held at Northeastern University, was all around self-care as women of color in academia. From dealing with micro-aggressions to developing negotiation skills, aligning with our vision, and growing as a scholar and academic, the topics covered were deep, vast and overall extremely empowering.
While the content of the conference itself was top-notch, it was more so the fact that so many professional women of color within a profession were gathered together in the same rooms. To be able to see familiar faces in a career and business setting was nothing short of amazing. As women of color, we’re most often in working environments with very few of our counterparts, if any. This reinforces the sense of isolation many, if not most of us, may feel in the context of our work, which in turn exacerbates negative patterns such as Impostor syndrome, lack of self-confidence, poor negotiation skills, and so much more.
There is something about representation that strengthens one’s ability to perform at optimal levels. Studies suggest that women of color are unfortunately less supported at work.According to this 2016 Catalyst report, the latter even tend to pay an “emotional tax” translating in a constant sense of being under-valued and having to be cautious at work. These hurdles due to lack of adequate representation, among other factors, have proven to be extremely detrimental to women of color.
As such, going from environments sorely lacking in diversity to having the opportunity to enjoy and leverage this diversity during women of color conferences goes a long way. This is the main reason why women of color conferences are critical to the latter’s growth, balance and flourishing, both professionally and personally. Aside from this, these conferences are also needed to:
Women of color conferences do provide the advantage of creating a platform to share common experiences and find tools to grow through these. They are also a powerful source of networking, in addition to nurturing a wider pool of diverse talent. Imagine if each woman of color could recommend another woman of color for opening positions across organizations and institutions?
Share and develop best practices
Women of color face unique challenges and situations that require unique solutions. These are the types of solutions and best practices that are discussed and developed during these conferences. In turn, these best practices can help improve organizations as a whole.
This is the reason why women of color conferences virtually act as masterminds to craft best diversity and work practices in general.
Start a conversation that can be continued in our workplaces
Last but not least, women of color conferences have the advantage of starting important conversations on diversity and equity. After these conferences, attendees tend to go back to work more open and willing to continue the conversation.
What has been your experience attending women of color conferences?
I used to be really good at apologizing. About anything and everything. But especially about being ambitious, and scoring successes, when I did. Most times, I would flat out lose myself in effusive, long-winded apologies. Other times, I would side-step positive and negative comments alike by attributing the whole thing to luck, other people, or a particularly conspicuous alignment of the stars. Like so many other working women and moms, I would mold, diminish, and excuse any potential seed of ambition or success, so as to fit in better, be more accepted, and not attract too much suspicion. Until I learnt to stop apologizing for career ambition or success…
You know the feeling, right? That thing you may call humility, or remembering where you come from, that keeps you in your place, reminding you not to overstep your self-imposed boundaries. Not to speak your truth, reach too high, or pat yourself on the back…Don’t get me wrong. Humility in its essence is a great quality. Humility as a shield against the fear to step into who we really are is an excuse. A sorry one at that…
As young girls, many of us are told to keep quiet. To care about and for others’ feelings. To not overshadow others, and be conscious of how others feel. Yet, as women, and as working women and moms, we quickly start realizing how making too much room for others also means not making enough room for ourselves. Which often translates into constantly apologizing for whatever professional ambition or success we may have. It then leads us into a vicious cycle that feeds lower self-esteem. However, there are ways in which we can stop this vicious cycle and finally quit feeling guilty for our success:
Understand your triggers
There are many reasons why we may apologize for our success, and a host of triggers that may set us off. These may differ from individual to individual. However, it’s important to understand what your own triggers are. What makes you believe that you’re not worth any of the praise and recognition you so rightly deserve? Who instilled in you a sense that you may not be worthy? When did you stop believing in your true talent and abilities?
Change the story you tell yourself about your success
The story you tell yourself about yourself will change the way you perceive your own achievements. If you’ve been suffering from Impostor Syndrome, you may also have been telling yourself that you don’t deserve your achievements. Or that at any moment, the rug could be pulled from under your legs and you will lose all your hard work.
Own your achievements
Last but not least, practice owning your achievements. This is something that may take some time if you’ve never done it before. Take some time to see yourself as deserving of your accomplishments. Learn to not necessarily attribute all the credit of your hard work to everyone else but yourself.
It’s time stop feeling sorry for all your hard work, and instead embrace how far you’ve come. It starts with you acknowledging your own worth, by understanding your own triggers, re-framing your story and finally owning your achievements.
In this episode of The Corporate Sister podcast, I’m discussing the one thing that drives me day in and day out, and that is working and living on Purpose. Or more specifically, the 7-step framework I’ve been going by to find and stay on purpose in all areas of my life and work.
Thanks so much for tuning in and listening to this week’s episode! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please share it by using the social media at the bottom of this post!
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